‘Yaaluwoda Yaaluida’– A Sinhala romantic comedy for the TikTok age premiere

The official red-carpet premiere of ‘Yaaluwoda Yaaluida’, Sri Lanka’s first fashion movie written and directed by Dilshara Jayamanna, produced by Rasitha JInasena, was held recently at the Colombo City Centre Scope Cinema. The movie, a Netflix flavoured Sinhala romantic comedy for the TikTok age, is to released in cinemas islandwide next week

The two newcomers to the silver screen are Shereen Willis Steffi and Eraj Gunewardane The movie Yaaluwoda Yaaluida aims to create a cultural shift in Sri Lankan cinema by exploring several themes that appeal to today’s young audiences such as ups and downs of falling in love, the difficult bridge between friendship and love, today’s world of high-end fashion, and the almost inevitable impact of social media on young lives.

An array of some of Sri Lanka’s most loved actors and actresses including Saranga Disasekara, Yureni Noshika, Dinakshie Priyasad, Danu Innasithamby, Mass Ramli, Romaine Willis, Sarah Illyas and many others, making a spellbound performances on the silver screen

What inspired the Director Dilshara Jayamanna’to focus the significant cultural shift among young Sri Lankans, thier approach, to pop culture be it fashion, music, career choices, and even their attitudes towards the international community.Jayamanna and his creative team have been able to perfectly capture the essence of this cultural shift and bring to life on the big screen for audiences of all ages to enjoy

The director feels the movie is bound to inspire today’s younger generation, notably the female audiences. Leading actress Shereen was discovered on TikTok by Executive Producer Harshini Kithulagoda and he provided a platform to reveal her acting prowess which she does so with tremendous success. Lead actor Eraj, who comes from a artistic family , portrays as young Steffi and his on-screen chemistry will leave the audiences mesmerised about the younger generation

The movie also has a couple of firsts in Sri Lanka’s film industry. The song ‘Tharunai’ by DJ Mass and Romaine Willis is the first EDM (Electronic Dance Music) track in a Sinhala movie, the movie is also the first Sinhala movie to have an Anime sequence, created by young designer Sejini Ratnayake.

Produced by Rasitha Jinasena, the studio for Yaaluwoda Yaaluida is Starfish Neuro, a bold new Sri Lankan content studio making premium content for cinemas and online audiences

Other key members of the production team include Rangana S. Bandara and Hasitha Warnasuriya (Directors of Photography), Kavinda Mudalige (Editor), Jude Gayantha (Costumes), and Nuwan Sanuranke (Production Design). The movie has an outstanding soundtrack with music by Nishan Daniel and songs performed by Dinesh Gamage, DJ Mass, and Romaine Willis.